The Buddha Riot: A Turning Point in Vietnam's History

However, Diem was a poor controller, a bad ruler. He, along with his brother, made brutal policies against Buddhists and eliminated a large amount of them in the Buddhists sanctuaries of Saigon. Diem's brother Nhu was heavily involved in these activities together with his brother's full support and the army trained by American military advisors (Moss, 2010). Nhu's wife even referred to the Buddhists as "barbecue" on a television show. All of this along with the fact that the Buddhists were denied the right to display their holy flags on the birthday of Buddha caused an immediate outburst in South Vietnam. Heavy protests started taking place and several Buddhist monks even burnt themselves to fatality as

Vietgone and Miss Saigon both center themselves around the Vietnam War but differ vastly in their portrayal of that conflict, and its effects on their characters. Both works tell the story of a romance that has been complicated by war and conflict. Vietgone stylizes the story of the playwright Qui Nguyen’s parents, who met in the United States in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and portrays a specific individual take on a historic event. Miss Saigon, however, reworks the opera Madame Butterfly, to fit the context of the Vietnam War without much commenting on the war itself or offering the perspective of a Vietnamese person who experienced it.

Many different groups in Vietnam would use the American press to express their opinions to the American people. When Diem was in power, he oppressed the people of South Vietnam.

There were several events during the Vietnam War that can be considered “turning points”, which can be described as the occurrence of an event that changed the course of history. One such event was the Buddhist crisis in 1963. The Buddhists of South Vietnam had experienced decades of religious persecution during French colonialism that continued with the Catholic government, which was backed by the United States (Toong, 2008). The demonstrations, protests and self-immolations that followed as a result of this religious persecution and the media coverage it generated encouraged the Kennedy administration to back a coup d’état against Ngo

Diem was very much a nationalist, but not communist, and this is what drew the Americans to Diem. The need had arisen to replace the Bao Dai emperorship, for in the eyes of many Vietnamese it was a sham and the only other alternative was that of the communists and Ho Chi Minh. Diem understood this and he, “insisted that France’s “Bao Dai solution” was all but handing Indochina to the Viet Minh. Only a Vietnamese leader who had not collaborated with either the French or Communists could succeed in forming a government to rival that of Ho” (28). His arguments of Vietnamese nationalism made sense to many political figures in Washington, thus putting him further in the front running for American support. Diem also secured further support from his Catholic faith, which put him in good with many influential figures in America, such as Cardinal Spellman who was very influential in right wing political circles. Faith was a very strong motivator

forces. (“National Security Council: Study on U.S. Policy on All-Vietnam Elections”) In addition, the United States of America, a country founded on the basis of religious freedom, had difficulty with the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam. South Vietnamese president, Ngo Dinh Diem, who was raised Catholic, refused to repeal anti-Buddhist laws even though Buddhism was the predominant religion in South Vietnam. The last straw for the Buddhists was when they were prohibited by the South Vietnamese government from carrying flags on Buddha’s birthday. In protest, a Buddhist monk set himself on fire and thirty additional monks were killed in a government raid. (Willbanks)

Ngo Dinh Diem was the first president of South Vietnam from 1955 until he was murdered in 1963. Ngo Dinh Diem was an anti-communist, who replaced Bao Dai in the South Vietnamese government in 1955. Diem refused to follow the Geneva accords, as he did not allow for South Vietnam to participate in free elections. Diem also executed hundred of Buddhists, as Diem was Roman Catholic, and this led to a retraction of support from the United States. In a coup d’état, Diem was assassinated, and the void of power left behind threw Vietnam into chaos and led to a civil war. Diem’s presidency and death weakened South Vietnam and left it susceptible to communism from the

For centuries Vietnam had been under Chinese rule. The Vietnamese people were an oppressed society and were exploited by the Chinese. Forced labour was brought upon the Vietnamese people, and there were many tyrannical Chinese governers along with constant demands of tribute for the Chinese rulers. There had been many revolts by

Once in power, the Americans discovered that Diem was unwilling to be a "puppet" ruler. He persistently rejects their suggestion and settled on decisions that wonder the South Vietnamese people. A couple tries were made to topple Diem yet regardless of the way that the Americans were sad with his execution as president, they felt they had no genuine alternative but to support him.

The title of this passage is “Beyond Vietnam -A Time to Break silence Adapted from MLK” the title is based of the writers feeling ,it’s time to break silence .This passage also relates to Martin Luther King .There are many reasons to bring up Vietnam ,There was Black And white people and they had to go to poverty programs ,this gave them hope and basically a redo on life, but when Vietnam had soon been at rise and this caused the program to be broken .Of course America was greedy and did nothing to help these people. Vietnam decided to draw men back to back , more and more ,black and white.The war was a persons and poverty's enemy .

     The United States was unjustified in its involvement in the Vietnam War because, in my opinion, the U.S had little justification to sacrifice thousands of innocent youths for political ideals. It was the longest and most unpopular war in which the United States fought. Many Americans on the home front protested their government’s involvement in the war. Many young Americans felt that there was no reason to fight for a cause they did not believe in, especially in such a strange foreign country. The civil rights movement also strongly influenced many of the war protests. This was because such a large percentage of minority soldiers sent over to fight were being unfairly treated. The African American soldiers

From 1954-1963, Diem presided over an increasingly corrupt, devious, and repressive regime. Communist guerrillas backed by North Vietnam launched a new rebellion, but a civil disobedience campaign led by the country's Buddhist monks contributed more directly to his downfall. Brutal persecution of the dissident monks in 1963 damaged the regime's already shaky international reputation. With American support, Vietnamese

to strengthen other areas of Southeast Asia against the anticipated expansion of international communism into the region (Duiker, 105).” With the victory in the 1955 elections the U.S. were able to establish a client regime to our maneuver France and its pro-French religious sects (Katt Hoban Discussion: January 27, 2016). Diem’s regime was given monetary aid, military equipment and advisors to have the country’s armed forces be trained by the United States government. The US government was interested in governing a regime capable of surpassing Ho Chi Minh in the North with deeply rooted hatred for the French and fear of the Communists to possess dominance (Young, 45). As Diem set about shaping his government, he used family resources to fill the

To understand the US involvement in Vietnam, it is necessary to understand the background of traditional independence and opposition to larger powers throughout Vietnamese history. The Vietnamese had a long history and tradition of opposing invading powers. This opposition and culture was to draw the U.S. into the longest war it has been involved in. This was an indirect but vitally important cause of US involvement in the Vietnam War. As early as 500BC, Vietnam was a country that held a strong sense of nationalism, and endeavoured for the goal of autonomy, independence, and self-rule. Up until modern history, there have been several events that have contributed towards intensifying this sense of nationalism and resistance against foreign powers. National resistance against the Chinese empire was one of the earliest examples of resistance against nationalism. Throughout the period of pre-modern history from 210 BC to 1789, resistances against foreign control and rule such as that against the Nan Yue, the Song, the Ming, and the Qing, were frequent. These attempts at national resistance came down to the basis that the nationalist Vietnamese did not want foreign influence determining the political future, culture, or customs of their country. Another main example that increased a sense of nationalism was French Colonialism. The French, who were appealed by Vietnam’s unique location, natural resources, and the extensive economic opportunities

Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech, "Beyond Vietnam- A Time to Break Silence, discusses the Vietnam war. King supports his discussion by establishing authority and appealing to his listeners emotions. The author's purpose is to call attention to what's happening in Vietnam in to raise awareness so they can begin to make a change. The author writes in a frustrated but inspirational style for his audience and others speaking up about Vietnam.